Be careful!! vivek!! It's not the same meaning Monnik wants to convey.

Empty vessels make most noise/sound: mucho ruido y pocas nueces. At least this is what I found in my English-Spanish Dictionary. I couldn't find the definition in English...Sorry!
Hope it helps
cecivit

It may seem too much Shakespearian but what about "much ado about nothing"?

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You're right Ampurdan. I had forgotten about that saying. I had never heard 'empty vessels make most noise', I found it in the Oxford Spanish-English Dictionary just by chance.
Let's wait..and hope that somebody helps...

I was raised in California and had Spanish classes from fifth grade onward. My Spanish teacher, Senor Custodio, used to use this expression all the time, but in a slightly different form: Cerrada la boca, no entran las moscas. At least that's the way I remember it. He was usually talking to students who insisted on chattering away while he was trying to teach. Anyway, the translation to English is roughly: Keep your mouth closed and no flies will enter. The meaning is perfectly clear, but it sounds better in Spanish. : )

I believe that "Loose lips sink ships" originated in World War II. It literally means that mentioning shipping or naval craft times or routes -- say in a bar where your remarks might be overheard -- might cause those ships to be targeted by German submarines. The expression has survived as a warning not to give away secrets or you'll cause the enterprise to "sink." The way Senor Custodio used the Spanish expression, he was implying your babbling nonsense would only bring scorn and disrepute upon you. He wanted us to shut up and listen, so he was trying to shame us into silence. I guess you could view it as a caution not to run your mouth or you might be endangering the enterprise, whatever it might be, but I don't think that's the main intent.

"Loose lips sink ships" is the perfect equivalent. And i like the explanation abut its origins. "Silence is golden" is the same in Spanish "el silencio es oro" o "el silencio vale oro". It stresses the value of silence, while the other one is a warning against negative consequences the lack of discresion could bring upon the speaker or someone else.

Mmm yes, I accept that's a possibility... Though I don't think that people in general would like to find flies in their mouths as a general rule... even if the consequence of opening one's mouth in Spanish seems less severe as it is in English... still for the proverb has for me the connotation of a warning. It's noit just about not loosing something but avoiding an unpleasant experience.

I was raised in California and had Spanish classes from fifth grade onward. My Spanish teacher, Senor Custodio, used to use this expression all the time, but in a slightly different form: Cerrada la boca, no entran las moscas. At least that's the way I remember it. He was usually talking to students who insisted on chattering away while he was trying to teach. Anyway, the translation to English is roughly: Keep your mouth closed and no flies will enter. The meaning is perfectly clear, but it sounds better in Spanish. : )

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"Il bocca chiusa, non c'entra mosca" is from an old Italian proverb and is probably the basis for the 'code of silence' instituted in the Mafia. It is basically a warning that you should keep that information you have to yourself or suffer the consequences such that you would be dead, with your mouth open and flies planting eggs,...the first place flies deposit for the decomposition of the body. I had heard several times that the Mexican Mafia was using this to warn that someone that was bragging about being connected would be dealt with. That was back in the late '50s and '60s when I heard this. It has become my favorite quote because it does convey that if you speak too much about the things you are involved with, it is no longer just your information. Something like: The only real secret is the one that only you know!

"Il bocca chiusa, non c'entra mosca" is from an old Italian proverb and is probably the basis for the 'code of silence' instituted in the Mafia. It is basically a warning that you should keep that information you have to yourself or suffer the consequences such that you would be dead, with your mouth open and flies planting eggs,...the first place flies deposit for the decomposition of the body. I had heard several times that the Mexican Mafia was using this to warn that someone that was bragging about being connected would be dealt with.
Really interesting, and it makes perfect sense.